Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services.

Why Shares of LivePerson Surged Today

After a long period of weak revenue, the company roared back with a double-digit increase in the first quarter.

What happened

Shares of LivePerson Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) jumped on Friday following the cloud-based chat software company's first-quarter report. LivePerson beat out analyst estimates across the board, registering its best revenue growth in years. The stock was up about 9.6% at 3:45 p.m. EDT Friday.

So what

LivePerson reported first-quarter revenue of $58.2 million, up 14% year over year and about $1 million higher than the average analyst estimate. Revenue from business operations rose 15% to $53.6 million, while revenue from consumer operations jumped 12% to $4.7 million. The company signed 98 deals during the quarter, up 32% year over year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.01, flat compared to the first quarter of 2017 and $0.01 better than analysts were expecting. The company lost $0.06 per share on a GAAP basis, an improvement over the $0.10 per-share loss it reported in the prior-year period.

"It is extremely rewarding to see our investments in LiveEngage, our go-to-market strategy, and our development capabilities pay off and translate into renewed double-digit growth," said LivePerson CEO Rob LoCascio.

Now what

For the second quarter, LivePerson expects revenue between $59 million and $60 million, along with a non-GAAP net profit between break-even and $0.01 per share. The company reported revenue of $54.1 million and non-GAAP EPS of $0.01 in the second quarter of 2017.

For the full year, LivePerson sees revenue between $239 million and $243 million, and non-GAAP earnings per share between $0.11 and $0.15. Both ranges are higher than the company's previous 2018 guidance.

After suffering through a long stretch of revenue declines and otherwise sluggish revenue growth, LivePerson shareholders finally have something to celebrate.